


day 131

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [131]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:20:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24112693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Relationships: Merrill/Noll (Dragon Age OC)
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [131]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257





	day 131

Noll had been tracking the Carta thieves for hours. They thought they could make a few quick coins by raiding an elven merchant leaving the Alienage. The poor man had made his way through the wilderness, past the racist gate guards who extracted a toll from him, and through the markets where elven merchants often found their wares stolen or simply burned to arrive at the Alienage. The biggest hurdle might have been getting his cart down the stairs. Noll would never understand how the ancient humans expected to move goods around a city split into a half-dozen level all separated by massive staircases. Magic they supposed. But when you build an empire around the use of magic things tend to go very wrong without that magic. Noll and several other elves had helped the merchant set up shop and after a few days of trading with the elves, he had set out on his way to the next city when the Carta struck, relieving him of his coin and anything else they could fit in their pockets.

Noll was not about to stand for that. The elves and dwarves could have built a decent community together if they teamed up to fight, or even justy bypass the humans, but the Carta were not ones for cooperation. Usually they were at least courteous enough to leave the elves alone. Not today though, it seemed.

For some strange reason the dwarves had left the city entirely and were holed up in a seaside cave. Either they knew Noll would be coming for them or they were not acting under orders from their superiors and were hoping to keep their ill gotten gains for themselves.

“Oooh,” said Merrill, finally catching up to Noll on the ridge. “I know that place. It’s an old elven ruin.”

“As opposed to a young elven ruin?” Noll asked.

“Well,” Merril mused. “Anything from the march on the Dales would be a young elven ruin wouldn’t it?”

“A seven hundred year old ruin is young?”

“These ruins might be eight thousand years old,” Merril insisted. “Seven hundred years would have been no time at all for the elves of Arlathan.”

Noll gave a moment of silence for what their people had lost, and for what they were reduced to. It made them all the angrier with the Carta dwarves, who would take from those who had already lost so much.

“Wait here,” they said to Merrill at the mouth of the cave. “I’ll scout ahead and see how many there are inside. If you hear shoulding come running.” Merrill nodded and Noll stepped into the shadows.

The dwarves were not that far inside. They had gathered around a small campfire and were divvying up their take. Five in total. Not that many if Noll struck by surprise. It might have been smarter to go back for Merrill but years of working alone had put Noll in the habit of tackling problems alone.

The campfire cast some light in the ruin but it provided more shadows. Noll slipped from one to the other until they were in the perfect striking position.

They let loose with a barrage of throwing daggers. The first one hit home, lodging itself in the throat of one of the thieves. The next struck, but didn’t kill, and the third clattered harmlessly off the heavy armour of the largest dwarf. Not an auspicious start.

The big dwarf was on her feet in an instant and charging Noll’s position with a massive warhapper. Noll only just managed to leap out of the way in time. The remaining three dwarves had Noll surrounded in an instant, two with knives drawn and the third with an axe and shield.

“Merrill!” Noll shouted. They tried to reach a better position by leaping over the axe-wielding dwarf. The thief was too fast, however, and managed to hook Noll’s ankle with the spike on the back end of the axe. They clattered to the ground with a thwump that knocked the air from their lungs. Noll tried to scramble backwards before the dwarves could close on them but they knew they would not be fast enough.

The axe-wielding dwarf was standing over them preparing a killing strike when he was struck with a bolt of electricity. The dwarf screamed out in pain, his voice soon joined by those of his fellows as the lightning arched to each of them in turn. Noll used the pause in the action to scramble to their feet. They looked over to Merrill and saw her drag a knife across her arm from elbow to wrist. Blood gushed freely from the wound and she reached out the bloody limb towards the dwarves.

Noll had seen many disturbing things in their life, they had even committed acts of violence that would have shocked most people. But they had never seen anything quite like four dwarves caught in a tornado of their own blood. Their screams when Merrill had hit them with the lightning were nothing compared to the shrieks of terror and agony they made now. When The tornado died down all but the largest dwarf dropped dead. 

The surviving dwarf dropped her hammer and collapsed to her knees still screaming. Noll had to tread carefully as the floor was not slick with a layer of blood but they made their way to the last dwarf. Noll briefly considered letting this one live to send a warning back to the Carta but that might expose Merrill to danger down the road. Insted, Noll drove a dagger into her temple for a quick death.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful,” Noll said, surveying the carnage around them. “But you scare me sometimes.”

Merril gave a shy smile and started wrapping up her bloody arm. Noll started sifting through the carnage to find the stolen goods. They would probably have to be washed before they were returned to the merchant.


End file.
